Category: Beginnings

Hey, I’m Shell! I’m not new to the world of sewing, but I find out about so many fantastic things all the time that I feel as if I am. I actually started sewing when I was a kid, thanks to my mom. She used to make outfits for my Cabbage Patch doll (and I think some for me to match!) and I got interested, so she taught me the basics. My best friend in grade school’s mom was a seamstress and I took one introductory class from her. I still have the bag I made! After that it was all learning-by-doing (still with mom’s help for a while).

When I was in college my interest sparked again and my parents got me a sewing machine for my birthday. I used the sewing lab with the help of a friend who was in a class there, and had my first shot with an overlocker (I’d end up with one of those some years later).

One day, when I was totally bored with my wardrobe, I started looking online for ways to spice up my extensive t-shirt collection, because I used to wear them several sizes too large (yay bad teenager fashion sense) and I wanted to make them fitted and cute. It was then I found the massive online crafting community that exists and I started pursuing sewing and crafting with renewed enthusiasm.

These days, with a regular job and other obligations for my personal time, finding time to sew and create is hard, but I manage to cram it in there. I still look for fun ways to reinvent my own wardrobe, and my t-shirt collection is still too huge. Sometimes the lack of formal training is frustrating, but thanks to that fabulous crafting community, I can always find a way to solve any problems I come up against. Each new project I take on teaches me something, and once in a while mom will still come out to help, too.

hello! i am cindy, a.k.a. cinderelly over on glitter, and also on my blogger blog, band-aids required! i am a professional seamstress, for 20 plus years now. as such, i am like elizabeth, also a fabric junkie! adding to that, i am also quite a beadaholic as well. my latest ‘fun thing’ in my life has been bellydance, and i have been doing that for the past 5 years now. i work out of my home altering clothes, and also altering and sewing bellydance costuming. i have a good friend with a little shop in our area where i also take bellydance lessons, and she sometimes puts some of my creations into her shop to sell.

as i said before, i am currently blogging on blogger, so please bear with me as i learn the wordpress site. (i have a rather slow learning curve as a computer user!) the first thing i want to learn is how get pictures up! when i figure that out, i will put up some photos of some of the costumes i am working on currently, and maybe past ones that are finished, as i have taken photos of lots of my projects. i am looking forward to this “hand make me over” blog project, to see what new, fun stuff we come up with!

HandMakeMeOver isn’t just going to be about me: there will be other contributors as well!

Well hello!

I mentioned that I was setting up the blog to a few friends, and I’ve managed to convince a couple of others that they should join in the fun! So this blog isn’t just going to be about me and my handmade makeover, but will feature projects from others as well. With any luck, there will be a new project to read and talk about each week.

I’ll be back soon with a list of the projects I’m looking to complete over the next few months, and to introduce my fellow contributors.

I’m a bit of a fabricoholic – my stash is rather large. In the past, I used to make lots of clothes for myself, but recently I haven’t been so good at actually sewing up that fabric into stylish garments. In the meantime, my wardrobe has got to feel a bit boring, and mainly bought.

I decided that this needs to change, and I’ve started this blog to help me stay motivated. I’m going share my revamp with you, but also, I hope that you’ll help me out along the way with comments, feedback, and most importantly, advice. Help me look stylish again! Help me with my Handmade Makeover – help me HandMakeMeOver!